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Mario Kart 7
Mario Kart 7 (マリオカート7 Mario Kāto Sebun) is a 2011 racing video game in the Mario Kart series, developed by Nintendo EAD and Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. The game was released worldwide in early December 2011. Mario Kart 7 is the most recent iteration in the Mario Kart series, following Mario Kart Wii from 2008. Similar to previous games in the series, players participate in go-kart racing on various [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_%28franchise%29 Mario]-themed tracks, playing as one of seventeen different [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mario_characters Mario characters]. While racing, the players make use of power-up items that hinder opposing characters. New additions to the game include hang-gliding attachments for karts, the ability to drive underwater, and the ability to fully customize the vehicles' builds. Mario Kart 7 supports both local and online multiplayer for up to eight players. Mario Kart 7 received positive reception, gaining aggregate critical scores of 85 and 84.96% on MetaCritic and GameRankings respectively. Gameplay Mario Kart 7 carries on traditional Mario Kart gameplay in which players race against each other in go-karts across a variety of themed tracks. Most tracks are based off various locations in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_%28franchise%29 Mario series], but a few tracks are set on Wuhu Island, which was featured in non-''Mario'' video games Wii Fit and Wii Sports Resort. While driving, the players are able to obtain power-up items that are used to hinder the progression of opponents or to help the player in the race from running into Item boxes located at specific points on the track. Some of these power-ups include the series staple items Koopa Shells, Banana Peels, and Super Mushrooms. Mario Kart 7 also features three items new to the Mario Kart series: the Fire Flower, the Super Leaf, and the Lucky 7, which bestows seven items at once. In addition to traditional controls, Mario Kart 7 can be played using the Nintendo 3DS gyroscope, in which the action is viewed in first person and the player steers the kart simply by turning the entire game system. Mario Kart 7 is particularly notable for sporting features unseen in previous Mario Kart installments. Players are able to customize their vehicles, choosing from various frames which range in weight, a selection of tires which affect a kart's handling on certain surfaces, and a choice of retractable hanggliders, which allow players to glide through the air. Hang gliding may allow players to skip over parts of the track or locate new routes and shortcuts that are otherwise unaccessible. There are seventeen frames, ten tires, and seven gliders, which makes a grand total of 1,190 possible kart combinations for the players to use during the races and battles. In past games, driving the kart into a body of water was considered going out of bounds and was penalized by delaying the player for several seconds. In Mario Kart 7, the karts are fully submersible and the tracks feature segments that are completely underwater. The game features sixteen playable Mario characters, including Wiggler, Honey Queen, Lakitu, and Metal Mario, who are new to the series, as well as Mii characters saved in the Nintendo 3DS Mii Maker. The characters are divided into different weight classes, which impact their driving styles. Mario Kart 7 offers thirty-two different tracks, which consist of sixteen tracks unique to the game and sixteen "classic" tracks, remakes of tracks featured in the past six Mario Kart games. Coins, originally introduced in Super Mario Kart, are scattered about the tracks; collecting them increases the player's top speed. Up to ten coins can be collected in each race but they will lose some when he or she comes into contact with hazards or goes out of bounds. Jump actions, which were introduced in Mario Kart Wii as tricks, lets players obtain a brief burst of speed when driving off ramps. For games played online, Mario Kart 7 utilizes Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and features online multiplayer for up to eight players at once. The game also utilizes the StreetPass and SpotPass modes of the Nintendo 3DS. With SpotPass, players download Time Trial ghost data from other players. Mario Kart 7 allows players to race against seven ghosts all at once. There are four game modes in single player: Grand Prix, Time Trial, Balloon Battle, and Coin Runners. Grand Prix follows the same pattern as the previous games in the series. The player races against seven computer-controlled opponents in four races, comprising a cup. After each race, they receive points based on their finishing position ranging from one to ten points. In Time Trial mode the player tries to finish the course in the fastest time possible. The best time is saved as a ghost, which the player can race against later. The battle mode games from Mario Kart Wii return and follows the same rules however, they can now be played without teams and each game now lasts two minutes. Development Nintendo EAD began development on Mario Kart 7 in early 2010. The idea to have hang gliding and submersible karts came during the development of the previous Mario Kart game, Mario Kart Wii, and was one of the first gameplay mechanics implemented. The game was first publicly announced at E3 2010 under the tentative title Mario Kart and then shown again at E3 2011, where it was announced for a late 2011 release. Because Nintendogs + Cats was scheduled to be released first, Mario Kart 7 was given lower priority and only eight staff members were assigned to begin work on it. When it was time to focus on the game, producer Hideki Konno realized that there was not enough staff available due to many other titles being developed at the same time, including The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword which had its production extended into 2011. In order to finish the game in time for the 2011 Christmas season, Nintendo consulted with Retro Studios, which had just finished making Donkey Kong Country Returns, to co-develop the game. Retro started work on Mario Kart 7 in December 2010. The team focused on producing the classic racing courses, remakes of courses from earlier Mario Kart titles, in order to learn both "lessons about the development process [for Mario Kart games]" and "about what makes a good course from a design perspective." Technical Issues Shortly after the release of Mario Kart 7, it was discovered that three of its available race tracks, Wuhu Loop, Maku Wuhu, and GBA Bowser Castle 1, each contained a glitch that allowed players to skip over a significant portion of the track, often exploited as a cheat during online play. Although Nintendo initially reported in January 2012 that there were no plans to release a fix, a downloadable patch that removes the glitches was released in the Nintendo eShop on May 15. Players that do not download and install the patch would be unable to connect and play Mario Kart 7 online. Reception Mario Kart 7 has received generally positive reviews. It holds an 85/100 rating on Metacritic based on 60 critic reviews and a 84.96% rating on GameRankings based on 45 reviews. IGN scored it a 9/10, praising "a handful of incredible innovations" and the game's multiplayer, particularly community features and customizable racing rules, but criticizing the small roster of only 17 characters, compared to that of Mario Kart Wii's 25 characters. Computer and Video Games gave the game a 9.4/10 and Eurogamer gave it an 8/10.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Kart_7#cite_note-eurogamer-17Nintendo World Report gave the game a 8.5, stating that it is more of the same and the gliding mechanics feel underutilized. On the more critical side, Destructoid gave the game a 5/10, stating that "sticking to tradition has not worked in Nintendo's favor" and saying the new glider and underwater sections "exist to provide the illusion of variety rather than actually altering the core experience". Giant Bomb scored the game a 3/5, noting "your enjoyment of Mario Kart 7 will likely hinge on your continued appreciation of series' formula". Awards IGN awarded Mario Kart 7 the IGN's Editors' Choice. Mario Kart 7 was nominated for "Best 3DS Game" and "Best Driving Game" at GameTrailers' 2011 Game of the Year Awards, but lost both respectively to Super Mario 3D Land and Forza Motorsport 4. Digital Spy awarded Mario Kart 7 the "Best Game of 2011" for the Digital Spy readers' awards of 2011. The Game is Nominated for a 2012 Kids' Choice Awards for "Favorite Video Game". Sales Mario Kart 7 sold over one million units in the U.S. as of 3 January 2012. In Japan, the game has sold over 1.5 million units as of 25 January 2012. As of 26 January 2012, the game has sold 4.5 million units globally, becoming the second best-selling 3DS game. Links *"Review: Mario Kart 7". Destructoid. *"Mario Kart 7 Review". Giant Bomb. *"3DS Review: Mario Kart 7 Review". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. *Official website *Official 3DS-only minisite *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2080342/ Mario Kart 7] at the Internet Movie Database Category:2011 video games Category:Most Wanted Games